“No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.” (Psalm 101:7)

God loves us, and we should never doubt it for one second. God is faithful in all His promises to His people. God desires everyone to repent and be saved. But God can’t be mocked. You can’t possibly expect a holy God to allow your unholiness to dwell in His gates. God’s house is a house of truth and righteousness. That which is false and that which is fake have no place within His walls.

Deceit and lies are close cousins, and both are an abomination to one who is truth by nature. How could we expect the actuality of truth to allow the absence of veracity in His home? I think it interesting that humankind treats lying as if it were of little or no significance when God says it is a major deal to Him. We have white lies and little lies, and we think we can excuse it because it is so widespread. We lie to others, and we lie to ourselves, but the worse might be the lies we tell God.

God says that he abhors liars, but we flip lies off as routinely as our cup of coffee or drink of tea. Little or big we lie. We lie to cover the lies we have already told. Deeper and deeper we sink until we forget what is truth and what is lies. We lose track. God does not. He knows our heart. Since He is the truth, He knows a lie when He hears it.

Task for Today: Be aware that this is a big deal. What is at stake is a place in the house of God. Don’t be fooled into thinking that God views lies as your friends and others do. Tell the truth. Make your yes a yes and your no a no. Speak only that which conveys truthfulness. A lie may save you embarrassment or a difficulty, but it could cost you much more.